Method and apparatus for slot structure indication

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for slot structure indication is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node, comprising: configuring at least one first SFI entry set to a wireless communication device, wherein the at least one SFI entry set contains slot structure information of at least one transmission resource; and transmitting a physical channel to a wireless communication device, wherein the physical channel comprises at least one slot format related information (SFI) field.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, moreparticularly, to a method and apparatus for slot structure indication.

BACKGROUND

With the continuous development of wireless communication technologies,a wide range of wireless communication services are emerging, which willgreatly increase the demand for bandwidth in wireless communicationsystems. Thus, the traditional frequency range of 300 MegaHertz (MHz) to3 GigaHertz (GHz) for commercial communication systems must be utilizedmore efficiently in order to meet the market demand for future wirelesscommunication services.

Over the past few decades, mobile communications have evolved from voiceservices to high-speed broadband data services. With further developmentof new types of businesses and applications, e.g. the mobile Internetand Internet of Things (IoT), the demands on data on mobile networkswill continue to increase exponentially. Based on diversified businessand application requirements in future mobile communications, wirelesscommunication systems should meet a variety of requirements, such asthroughput, latency, reliability, link density, cost, energyconsumption, complexity, and coverage.

An LTE (Long-Term Evolution) system can support performing FDD(Frequency Division Duplex) operation on a pair of spectrums (e.g.performing downlink on one carrier and uplink on another carrier). Italso supports TDD (Time Division Duplex) operation on an unpairedcarrier. In a conventional TDD operation mode, only a limited number ofconfigurations of uplink and downlink sub-frame allocations(corresponding to configuration 0 to configuration 6) are utilized.Adjacent areas use a same configuration, that is, with the samedirection of transmission. The technology of eIMTA (enhancedinterference mitigation and traffic adaptation) can configuresemi-statically (at 10 ms or more) the uplink and downlink of the LTEsystem, and make adjacent areas use different configurations of TDDuplink and downlink sub-frame allocations. But these configurations arestill limited to the several configurations described above.

Future wireless communication systems, such as the 5G/New Radio (NR)system, will support dynamic TDD operations, flexible Duplexing (orDuplexing flexibility) operations, and full Duplexing operations, inorder to meet the fast adaptive requirements of the business and tofurther improve the efficiency of spectrum utilization. Taking dynamicTDD as an example, a dynamic TDD operation refers to dynamically orsemi-dynamically changing the transmission direction as uplink ordownlink, on the unpaired spectrum (or on the uplink or downlinkcarriers in the paired spectrum). Compared to eIMTA, dynamic TDDoperations can support direction changes in a sub-frame level, a timeslot level, or in an even more dynamic level. While an eIMTA systemutilizes physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to indicate TDDsub-frame configurations, a 5G/NR system will use group-common PDCCH(GC-PDCCH) to notify a group of terminals and/or users about somecontrol information, e.g. slot format related information (SFI). Forexample, a base station (BS) in a 5G/NR system can indicate SFI via agroup-common PDCCH to notify a group of terminals about channelstructure information of a transmission link between the BS and eachterminal within one or more time slots. The channel structure mayinclude a pattern of transmission attributes, e.g. downlink (DL), uplink(UL), and/or OTHER of the transmission link.

There is no satisfactory solution in existing literatures or existingtechnologies for any of the following issues: (a) how the terminal canunderstand an SFI indication when a SFI can be used to indicate multiplecarriers, (b) how the terminal can properly get properly configured witha GC-PDCCH monitoring period to monitor the SFI indication; and (c) howthe terminal can derive a FDD SFI table from a TDD SFI table.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving theissues related to one or more problems presented in the prior art, aswell as providing additional features that will become readily apparentby reference to the following detailed description when taken inconjunction with the accompany drawings. In accordance with someembodiments, exemplary systems, methods, and computer program productsare disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodimentsare presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read the presentdisclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments canbe made while remaining within the scope of the invention.

In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node,comprising: a method performed by a wireless communication node,comprising: configuring at least one first SFI entry set to a wirelesscommunication device, wherein the at least one SFI entry set containsslot structure information of at least one transmission resource; andtransmitting a physical channel to a wireless communication device,wherein the physical channel comprises at least one slot format relatedinformation (SFI) field.

In another embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communicationnode, comprising: transmitting a group common physical downlink controlchannel (GC-PDCCH) to a wireless communication device, wherein thephysical channel comprises at least one slot format related information(SFI) field; and configuring a period of a GC-PDCCH monitoring occasionfor a wireless communication device to receive the at least one SFIfield for SFI indication.

Yet in another embodiment, a method performed by a wirelesscommunication device, comprising: receiving at least one first SFI entryset from a wireless communication node, wherein the at least one SFIentry set contains slot structure information of at least onetransmission resource; configuring at least one second SFI entry set;and receiving a physical channel from the wireless communication node,wherein the physical channel comprises at least one slot format relatedinformation (SFI) field.

Yet, in another embodiment, a method performed by a wirelesscommunication device, comprising: receiving a group common physicaldownlink control channel (GC-PDCCH) from a wireless communication node,wherein the GC-PDCCH comprises at least one slot format relatedinformation (SFI) field; receiving a period of a GC-PDCCH monitoringoccasion from the wireless communication node to receive the at leastone SFI field for SFI indication; and performing GC-PDCCH monitoring toreceive the at least one SFI field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isnoted that various features are not necessarily drawn to scale. In fact,the dimensions and geometries of the various features may be arbitrarilyincreased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wirelesscommunication system for a slot structure information indication, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method of a slot structure information indication,in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A illustrates a GC-PDCCH carrying only one SFI field indicatingone transmission resource, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3B illustrates a GC-PDCCH carrying only one SFI field 302indicating two transmission resources, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3C illustrates a GC-PDCCH carrying two SFI fields indicating twotransmission resources, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below withreference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinaryskill in the art to make and use the invention. As would be apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the presentdisclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples describedherein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.Thus, the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodimentsand applications described or illustrated herein. Additionally, thespecific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein aremerely exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specificorder or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can bere-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present invention.Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that themethods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts ina sample order, and the invention is not limited to the specific orderor hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar componentsmay be designated by the same or similar reference numerals althoughthey are illustrated in different drawings. Detailed descriptions ofconstructions or processes well-known in the art may be omitted to avoidobscuring the subject matter of the present invention. Further, theterms are defined in consideration of their functionality in embodimentof the present invention, and may vary according to the intention of auser or an operator, usage, etc. Therefore, the definition should bemade on the basis of the overall content of the present specification.

FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary wireless communication network 100, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In awireless communication system, a network side communication node or abase station (BS) can be a node B, an E-utran Node B (also known asEvolved Node B, eNodeB or eNB), a pico station, a femto station, or thelike. A terminal side node or a user equipment (UE) can be a long rangecommunication system like a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), tablet, laptop computer, or a short rangecommunication system such as, for example a wearable device, a vehiclewith a vehicular communication system and the like. A network and aterminal side communication node are represented by a BS 102 and a UE104, respectively, which are generally referred to as “communicationnodes” hereinafter in all the embodiments in this disclosure. Suchcommunication nodes may be capable of wireless and/or wiredcommunications, in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. Itis noted that all the embodiments are merely preferred examples, and arenot intended to limit the present disclosure. Accordingly, it isunderstood that the system may include any desired combination of UEsand BSs, while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the wireless communication network 100 includes aBS 102 and a UE 104 a, and a UE 104 b. The BS 102 and the UEs 104 arecontained within a geographic boundary of cell 101. A wirelesstransmission from a transmitting antenna of the UE 104 to a receivingantenna of the BS 102 is known as an uplink transmission, and a wirelesstransmission from a transmitting antenna of the BS 102 to a receivingantenna of the UE 104 is known as a downlink transmission. The UE 104 ahas a direct communication channel with the BS 102 operating at a firstfrequency f1 for downlink communication 103 and a second frequency f2for uplink communication 105 a. Similarly, the UE 104 b also has adirect communication channel with the BS 102 operating at the firstfrequency f1 for downlink communication 103 and a third frequency f3 foruplink communication. In some embodiments, the second frequency f2 andthe third frequency f3 are different from the first frequency f1. Insome embodiments, the second frequency f2 and the third frequency f3 aredifferent from each other. Therefore, the second frequency f2 and thethird frequency f3 have different transmission characteristics, such asfor example path loss, coverage, maximum transmission power, etc. Insome embodiments, the bandwidth of the first frequency f1, the secondfrequency f2 and the third frequency f3 can be also different. In someembodiments, the second frequency f2 and the third frequency f3 may havedifferent transmission characteristics on different bandwidth part, suchas for example path loss, coverage, maximum transmission power, etc.Although only 2 UEs 104 are shown in FIG. 1A, it should be noted thatany number of UEs 104 can be included in the cell 101 and are within thescope of this invention. In some embodiments, the coverage of uplinkcommunication 105 b is larger than that of the uplink communication 105a, as indicated by doted circles 112 and 110, respectively. The BS 102is located at the intercept region of the coverage areas 110 and 112 inorder for the BS 102 to perform uplink communication with the UE 104 aand UE 104 b in the cell 101.

When the UE 104 b is at the extreme cell edge 101, e.g., with a longerdistance between the BS 102 and UE 104 b, path loss becomes significant,so the UE 104 b will transmit at a maximum power over a long distance atthe third frequency f3. As a result, the data rate is relatively lowbetween BS 102 and UE 104 b in this case. As the UE 104 moves closer tothe BS 102 (i.e., UE104 a), the path loss decreases and the signal levelat the BS 102 increases, thus the SNR improves. In response, the BS 102instructs the UE 104 to reduce power on the second frequency f2 tominimize interference to other UE's and/or the BS 102.

Power headroom (PHR) value is defined as the difference between theterminal maximum transmit power and the estimated power for ULcommunication, including shared channel transmission, sounding referencesignal (SRS) transmission, and/or physical control channel (PUCCH)transmission. As discussed above, instead of having only one PH valuefor the cell 101, there are one PH value per uplink transmissionresource due to their unique transmission characteristics associatedwith different uplink transmission resources.

The direct communication channels 105/103 between the UEs 104 and the BS102 can be through interfaces such as an Uu interface, which is alsoknown as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) airinterface. The direct communication channels (sidelink transmission) 106between the UEs can be through a PC5 interface, which is introduced toaddress high moving speed and high density applications such asVehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications. The BS 102 is connected to acore network (CN) 108 through an external interface 107, e.g., an Iuinterface.

The UEs 104 a and 104 b obtains its synchronization timing from the BS102, which obtains its own synchronization timing from the core network108 through an internet time service, such as a public time NTP (NetworkTime Protocol) server or a RNC (Radio Frequency Simulation SystemNetwork Controller) server. This is known as network-basedsynchronization. Alternatively, the BS 102 can also obtainsynchronization timing from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)(not shown) through a satellite signal 106, especially for a large BS ina large cell which has a direct line of sight to the sky, which is knownas satellite-based synchronization.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wirelesscommunication system 150 for a slot structure information indication, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The system150 may include components and elements configured to support known orconventional operating features that need not be described in detailherein. In one exemplary embodiment, system 150 can be used to transmitand receive data symbols in a wireless communication environment such asthe wireless communication network 100 of FIG. 1A, as described above.

System 150 generally includes a BS 102 and two UEs 104 a and 104 b,collectively referred to as UE 104 below for ease of discussion. The BS102 includes a BS transceiver module 152, a BS antenna array 154, a BSmemory module 156, a BS processor module 158, and a network interface160, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another asnecessary via a data communication bus 180. The UE 104 includes a UEtransceiver module 162, a UE antenna 164, a UE memory module 166, a UEprocessor module 168, and a I/O interface 169, each module being coupledand interconnected with one another as necessary via a datecommunication bus 190. The BS 102 communicates with the UE 104 via acommunication channel 192, which can be any wireless channel or othermedium known in the art suitable for transmission of data as describedherein.

As would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, system150 may further include any number of blocks, modules, circuits, etc.other than those shown in FIG. 1B. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, andprocessing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software,firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustratethis interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, andsoftware, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits,and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, orsoftware depends upon the particular application and design constraintsimposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the conceptsdescribed herein may implement such functionality in a suitable mannerfor each particular application, but such implementation decisionsshould not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the presentinvention.

A wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the UE 104 to areceiving antenna of the BS 102 is known as an uplink transmission, anda wireless transmission from a transmitting antenna of the BS 102 to areceiving antenna of the UE 104 is known as a downlink transmission. Inaccordance with some embodiments, a UE transceiver 162 may be referredto herein as an “uplink” transceiver 162 that includes a RF transmitterand receiver circuitry that are each coupled to the UE antenna 164. Aduplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplinktransmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in time duplex fashion.Similarly, in accordance with some embodiments, the BS transceiver 152may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver 152 that includesRF transmitter and receiver circuitry that are each coupled to theantenna array 154. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple thedownlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna array 154 intime duplex fashion. The operations of the two transceivers 152 and 162are coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver is coupled to theuplink UE antenna 164 for reception of transmissions over the wirelesscommunication channel 192 at the same time that the downlink transmitteris coupled to the downlink antenna array 154. Preferably, there is closesynchronization timing with only a minimal guard time between changes induplex direction. The UE transceiver 162 communicates through the UEantenna 164 with the BS 102 via the wireless communication channel 192or with other UEs via the wireless communication channel 193. Thewireless communication channel 193 can be any wireless channel or othermedium known in the art suitable for sidelink transmission of data asdescribed herein.

The UE transceiver 162 and the BS transceiver 152 are configured tocommunicate via the wireless data communication channel 192, andcooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement 154/164 thatcan support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulationscheme. In some embodiments, the BS transceiver 152 is configured totransmit the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and configuredslot structure related information (SFI) entry set to the UE transceiver162. In some embodiments, the UE transceiver 162 is configured toreceive PDCCH containing at least one SFI field from the BS transceiver152. In some exemplary embodiments, the UE transceiver 162 and the BStransceiver 152 are configured to support industry standards such as theLong Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards, and the like. It isunderstood, however, that the invention is not necessarily limited inapplication to a particular standard and associated protocols. Rather,the UE transceiver 162 and the BS transceiver 152 may be configured tosupport alternate, or additional, wireless data communication protocols,including future standards or variations thereof.

The BS processor modules 158 and UE processor modules 168 areimplemented, or realized, with a general purpose processor, a contentaddressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specificintegrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitableprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform thefunctions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be realizedas a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine,or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor anda microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, orany other such configuration.

Then the UE processor module 168 detects the PHR triggering message onthe UE transceiver module 162, the UE processor module 168 is furtherconfigured to determine at least one second SFI entry set based on atleast one predefined algorithm and the received at least one first SFIentry set configured by the BS 102, wherein the at least one predefinedalgorithm is selected based on other parameters calculated or messagesreceived. The UE processor module 168 is further configured to generatethe at least one second SFI entry set and monitor the PDCCH received onthe UE transceiver module 162 to further receive the at least one SFIfield. As used herein, “SFI entry set” means SFI table or SFI entries.

Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connectionwith the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly inhardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by processormodules 158 and 168, respectively, or in any practical combinationthereof. The memory modules 156 and 166 may be realized as RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. In this regard, the memory modules 156 and 166 may becoupled to the processor modules 158 and 168, respectively, such thatthe processors modules 158 and 168 can read information from, and writeinformation to, memory modules 156 and 166, respectively. The memorymodules 156 and 166 may also be integrated into their respectiveprocessor modules 158 and 168. In some embodiments, the memory modules156 and 166 may each include a cache memory for storing temporaryvariables or other intermediate information during execution ofinstructions to be executed by processor modules 158 and 168,respectively. Memory modules 156 and 166 may also each includenon-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by theprocessor modules 158 and 168, respectively.

The network interface 160 generally represents the hardware, software,firmware, processing logic, and/or other components of the base station102 that enable bi-directional communication between BS transceiver 152and other network components and communication nodes configured tocommunication with the BS 102. For example, network interface 160 may beconfigured to support internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typicaldeployment, without limitation, network interface 160 provides an 802.3Ethernet interface such that BS transceiver 152 can communicate with aconventional Ethernet based computer network. In this manner, thenetwork interface 160 may include a physical interface for connection tothe computer network (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC)). The terms“configured for” or “configured to” as used herein with respect to aspecified operation or function refers to a device, component, circuit,structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed,programmed, formatted and/or arranged to perform the specified operationor function. The network interface 160 could allow the BS 102 tocommunicate with other BSs or core network over a wired or wirelessconnection.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, as mentioned above, the BS 102 repeatedlybroadcasts system information associated with the BS 102 to one or moreUEs (e.g., 104) so as to allow the UE 104 to access the network withinthe cell 101 where the BS 102 is located, and in general, to operateproperly within the cell 101. Plural information such as, for example,downlink and uplink cell bandwidths, downlink and uplink configuration,configuration for random access, etc., can be included in the systeminformation, which will be discussed in further detail below. Typically,the BS 102 broadcasts a first signal carrying some major systeminformation, for example, configuration of the cell 101 through a PBCH(Physical Broadcast Channel). For purposes of clarity of illustration,such a broadcasted first signal is herein referred to as “firstbroadcast signal.” It is noted that the BS 102 may subsequentlybroadcast one or more signals carrying some other system informationthrough respective channels (e.g., a Physical Downlink Shared Channel(PDSCH)), which are herein referred to as “second broadcast signal,”“third broadcast signal,” and so on.

Referring again to FIG. 1B, in some embodiments, the major systeminformation carried by the first broadcast signal may be transmitted bythe BS 102 in a symbol format via the communication channel 192. Inaccordance with some embodiments, an original form of the major systeminformation may be presented as one or more sequences of digital bitsand the one or more sequences of digital bits may be processed throughplural steps (e.g., coding, scrambling, modulation, mapping steps,etc.), all of which can be processed by the BS processor module 158, tobecome the first broadcast signal. Similarly, when the UE 104 receivesthe first broadcast signal (in the symbol format) using the UEtransceiver 162, in accordance with some embodiments, the UE processormodule 168 may perform plural steps (de-mapping, demodulation, decodingsteps, etc.) to estimate the major system information such as, forexample, bit locations, bit numbers, etc., of the bits of the majorsystem information. The UE processor module 168 is also coupled to theI/O interface 169, which provides the UE 104 with the ability to connectto other devices such as computers. The I/O interface 169 is thecommunication path between these accessories and the UE processor module168.

In some embodiments, the UE 104 can operate in a hybrid communicationnetwork in which the UE communicates with the BS 102, and with otherUEs, e.g., between 104 a and 104 b. As described in further detailbelow, the UE 104 supports sidelink communications with other UE's aswell as downlink/uplink communications between the BS 102 and the UE104. As discussed above, sidelink communication allows the UEs 104 a and104 b to establish a direct communication link with each other, or withother UEs from different cells, without requiring the BS 102 to relaydata between UE's.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method 200 of a slot structure informationindication, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is understood that additional operations may be providedbefore, during, and after the method 200 of FIG. 2 , and that some otheroperations may be omitted or only briefly described herein.

The method 200 starts with operation 202 in which a BS 102 configures atleast one first slot structure related information (SFI) entry set,which is used to indicate slot structure information for eachtransmission resource, e.g., component carrier, bandwidth part, or cell.In some embodiments, the transmission resource can be a time divisionduplex (TDD) transmission resource, and a frequency division duplex(FDD) transmission resource. As used herein, a “bandwidth part” refersto a part of a bandwidth in a wideband of frequency. In someembodiments, the FDD transmission resources can be a FDD downlink (DL)transmission resource, or a FDD uplink (UL) transmission resource. Insome embodiment, the at least one first SFI entry set can be also usedto indicate slot structure information of a group of transmissionresources. In order to divide a plurality of transmission resources intogroups, at least one of the following rules can be used. In someembodiments, TDD transmission resources can form a group, and FDDtransmission resources can form another group. Alternatively, TDDtransmission resources can form a group, and FDD DL transmissionresources can form another group, and FDD UL transmission resources canform another group. In some embodiments, a group comprises one TDDtransmission resource, and at least one FDD transmission resource, andthe other group comprises the other TDD transmission resource, and atleast one the other FDD transmission resource. In some embodiments, theplurality of transmission resources only forms one group. In certainembodiments, each of the plurality of transmission resources can be agroup, such that the number of groups equals the number of transmissionresources. Furthermore, a group can comprise transmission resources thatare located in a predefined frequency range or in a predefined indexrange.

In some embodiments, a plurality of SFI entry sets can be a plurality ofslot format related information (SFI) tables, wherein the plurality ofSFI tables can be the same or different. In some embodiments, theplurality of SFI tables can be pre-defined, or semi-staticallyconfigured. As used herein, “semi-statically configured” means thesetting is configure through a higher layer signaling by the BS 102. Insome embodiments, the plurality of SFI tables can be derived from aplurality of different SFI tables. In some embodiments, at least one SFIentry set comprises a first number of SFI entries.

The method 200 continues with operation 204, in which the UE 104 derivesat least one second SFI entry set based on the at least one first SFIentry set configured by the BS 102, in accordance with some embodiments.The at least one first SFI entry set can be at least one first SFItable. When the at least one first SFI table configured by the BS 102comprises at least one TDD SFI table with a number of entries, the UE104 determines the at least one second SFI table, which can be a FDD SFItable with a number of entries, according to at least one of thefollowing rules: entries in the at least one TDD SFI table with twoswitching points are not included in the at least one FDD SFI table;entries in the at least one TDD SFI table with one switching pointincluding both downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) are not included in the atleast one FDD SFI table; entries in the at least one TDD SFI table withzero switching point including transmission directions (e.g., UL or DL)that are different from the transmission directions used in the at leastone FDD transmission resource, or at least one group of FDD transmissionresources, are not included in the at least one FDD SFI table.

In some embodiments, the number of orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) symbols representing the transmission directions(e.g., UL, DL and OTHER, wherein OTHER can be UNKNOWN) in an entry ofthe at least one TDD SFI table configured by the BS 102 and the at leastone FDD SFI table determined by the UE 104 are related. In someembodiments, the number of OFDM symbols representing downlinktransmission (i.e., DL) in an entry of the at least one TDD SFI table isthe same as the number of OFDM symbols representing uplink transmission(i.e., UL) in an entry of the at least one FDD SFI table. In someembodiments, the number of OFDM symbols representing uplink transmission(i.e., UL) in an entry of the at least one TDD SFI table is the same asthe number of OFDM symbols representing downlink transmission (i.e., DL)in an entry of the at least one FDD SFI table. In some embodiments, thenumber of OFDM symbols representing OTHER (i.e., OTHER) in an entry ofthe at least one TDD SFI table is the same as the number of OFDM symbolsrepresenting uplink transmission (i.e., OTHER) in an entry of the atleast one FDD SFI table. In some embodiments, the number of OFDM symbolsrepresenting downlink transmission (i.e., DL) in an entry of the atleast one TDD SFI table is the same as the number of OFDM symbolsrepresenting downlink transmission (i.e., DL) in an entry of the atleast one FDD SFI table. In some embodiments, the number of OFDM symbolsrepresenting uplink transmission (i.e., UL) in an entry of the at leastone TDD SFI table is the same as the number of OFDM symbols representinguplink transmission (i.e., UL) in an entry of the at least one FDD SFItable.

Furthermore, OFDM symbol position in a slot or a slot segment in anentry of the at least one TDD SFI table configured by the BS 102 isdifferent from the OFDM symbol position in a slot or slot segment in anentry of the FDD SFI table determined by the UE 104. Specifically, whenthe OFDM symbol position of D is before the OFDM symbol position ofOTHER in a slot or a slot segment in an entry of the at least one TDDSFI table, the OFDM symbol position of U is after the OFDM symbolposition of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment in an entry of the atleast one FDD SFI table. For another example, when the OFDM symbolposition of U is after the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or aslot segment in an entry of the at least one TDD SFI table, the OFDMsymbol position of D is before the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in aslot or a slot segment in an entry of the at least one FDD SFI table. Asone can see, the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in an entry of the atleast one TDD SFI table is the same as the OFDM symbol position of OTHERin an entry of the at least one FDD SFI table, after doing some cyclicshift to the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in an entry of the at leastone FDD SFI table, according to certain embodiments.

The at least one FDD SFI table determined by the UE 104 is a subset ofthe at least one TDD SFI table configured by the BS 102, in someembodiments. In certain embodiments, some part of the entries in the atleast one FDD SFI table is a subset of the least one TDD SFI table. Insome other embodiments, the at least one FDD SFI table comprising theabove-mentioned structures is a subset of the at least one TDD SFItable.

When the at least one first SFI table configured by the BS 102 comprisesat least one FDD DL SFI table, the UE 104 determines the at least onesecond SFI table, which can be a FDD UL table. In some embodiments, thenumbers of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolsrepresenting the transmission directions (e.g., U, D and OTHER) in anentry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table configured by the BS 102 andan entry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table determined by the UE 104are related. In some embodiments, the number of OFDM symbols of D in anentry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table is the same as the number ofOFDM symbols of U in an entry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table. Insome embodiments, the number of OFDM symbols of OTHER in an entry of theat least one FDD DL SFI table is the same as the number of OFDM symbolsof OTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table.

Similarly, the OFDM symbol position in a slot or a slot segment in anentry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table is different from the OFDMsymbol position in a slot or slot segment in an entry of the FDD UL SFItable. Specifically, when the OFDM symbol position of D is before theOFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment in an entry ofthe at least one FDD DL SFI table, the OFDM symbol position of U isafter the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment inan entry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table. The OFDM symbol positionof OTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table is the same asthe OFDM symbol position of OTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD ULSFI table, after doing some cyclic shift to the OFDM symbol position ofOTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table, according tocertain embodiments.

The number of entries of the at least one FDD DL SFI table is the sameas the number of entries of the at least one FDD UL SFI table, accordingto some embodiments. The number of entries of the at least one FDD DLSFI table that has the property as discussed above is the same as thenumber of entries of the at least one FDD UL SFI table, according tosome embodiments.

When the at least one first SFI table configured by the BS 102 comprisesat least one FDD UL SFI table, the UE 104 determines the at least onesecond SFI table, which can be a FDD DL table. In some embodiments, thenumbers of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolsrepresenting the transmission directions (e.g., U, D and OTHER) in anentry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table configured by the BS 102 andan entry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table determined by the UE 104are related. In some embodiments, the number of OFDM symbols of U in anentry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table is the same as the number ofOFDM symbols of D in an entry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table. Insome embodiments, the number of OFDM symbols of OTHER in an entry of theat least one FDD UL SFI table is the same as the number of OFDM symbolsof OTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table.

Similarly, the OFDM symbol position in a slot or a slot segment in anentry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table is different from the OFDMsymbol position in a slot or slot segment in an entry of the FDD DL SFItable. Specifically, the OFDM symbol position of U is after the OFDMsymbol position of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment in an entry of theat least one FDD UL SFI table, the OFDM symbol position of D is beforethe OFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment in anentry of the at least one FDD DL SFI table. The OFDM symbol position ofOTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD UL SFI table is the same asthe OFDM symbol position of OTHER in an entry of the at least one FDD DLSFI table, after shifting the OFDM symbol position of OTHER with theOFDM symbol position of U or D in an entry of the at least one FDD DLSFI table, according to certain embodiments.

The number of entries of the at least one FDD UL SFI table is the sameas the number of entries of the at least one derived FDD DL SFI table,according to some embodiments. The number of entries of the at least oneFDD UL SFI table that has the property as discussed above is the same asthe number of entries of the at least one derived FDD DL SFI table.

In some embodiments, the first SFI entry set can be pre-defined by theBS 102 with a total entry number of X. The BS 102 semi-staticallyconfigures some SFI entries from the first SFI entry set to the UE 104using a higher-layer signaling, for example a bitmap with a length of X,according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the BS 102semi-statically configures some SFI entries from a second SFI entry setto the UE 104 using a higher-layer signaling, for example a bit map witha length of X1. In some embodiments, X1 can be equal to or smaller thanX. In some embodiments, the X1 number of entries can be a subset or afullset of the X number of entries.

Entries of the first SFI entry set with X entries configured with twoswitching points are not included in entries of the second SFI entry setwith X1 entries; entries of the first SFI entry set with X entriesconfigured with one switching point including both D and U are notincluded in the entries of the second SFI entry set with X1 entries;entries of the first SFI entry set with X entries configured with zeroswitching point including transmission directions (e.g., U or D) are notincluded in entries of the second SFI entry set with X1 entries.

In some embodiments, the numbers of OFDM symbols representing thetransmission directions (e.g., U, D and OTHER) in an entry of the firstSFI entry set with X entries and in an entry of the second SFI entry setwith X1 entries are related. In some embodiments, the number of OFDMsymbols of D in an entry of the first SFI entry set with X entries isthe same as the number of OFDM symbols of U in an entry of the secondSFI entry set with X1 entries. In some embodiments, the number of OFDMsymbols of U in an entry of the first SFI entry set with X entries isthe same as the number of OFDM symbols of D in an entry of the secondSFI entry set with X1 entries. In some embodiments, the number of OFDMsymbols of OTHER in an entry of the first SFI entry set with X entriesis the same as the number of OFDM symbols of OTHER in an entry of thesecond SFI entry set with X1 entries. In some embodiments, the number ofOFDM symbols of D in an entry of the first SFI entry set with X entriesis the same as the number of OFDM symbols of D in an entry of the secondSFI entry set with X1 entries. In some embodiments, the number of OFDMsymbols of U in an entry of the first SFI entry set with X entries isthe same as the number of OFDM symbols of U in an entry of the secondSFI entry set with X1 entries.

Furthermore, the OFDM symbol position in a slot or a slot segment in anentry of the first SFI entry set with X entries is different from theOFDM symbol position in a slot or slot segment in an entry of the secondSFI entry set with X1 entries. Specifically, when the OFDM symbolposition of D is before the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or aslot segment in an entry of the first SFI table, the OFDM symbolposition of U is after the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or aslot segment in an entry of the second SFI entry set with X1 entries.For another example, when the OFDM symbol position of U is after theOFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment in an entry ofthe first SFI entry set with X entries, the OFDM symbol position of D isbefore the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in a slot or a slot segment inan entry of the second SFI entry set with X1 entries. As one can see,the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in an entry of the first SFI entry setwith X entries is the same as the OFDM symbol position of OTHER in anentry of the second SFI entry set with X1 entries, after shifting theOFDM symbol position of OTHER with the OFDM symbol position of U or D inan entry of the second SFI entry set with X1 entries, according tocertain embodiments.

The method 200 continues with operation 206, in which a PDCCH carryingat least one SFI field is transmitted from the BS 102 to the UE 104, inaccordance with some embodiments. The PDCCH is transmitted on a firsttransmission resource with a first numerology and a first subcarrierspacing (SCS) and the at least one SFI field refers to at least one SFItable indicating at least one second transmission resource with at leastone second numerology and at least one second SCS. In some embodiments,the PDCCH can be a group-common PDCCH (GC-PDCCH), a common PDCCH(C-PDCCH), or a UE-specific PDCCH (UE-PDCCH).

In some embodiments, when a plurality of SFI fields are carried on aPDCCH (e.g., GC-PDCCH), the plurality of SFI fields can be used to referto a plurality of SFI tables that are different from each other. In someembodiments, the plurality of SFI fields can be used to refer to a sameSFI table.

In some embodiments, when there is only one SFI field carried on thePDCCH (e.g., GC-PDCCH) transmitted by the BS 102 to the UE 104, the SFIfield can be used by the UE 104 to derive the corresponding slotstructure of a transmission resource according to the corresponding SFItable. In some embodiments, when only one SFI field is carried on thePDCCH transmitted by the BS 102 to the UE 104, the SFI field can be alsoused by the UE 104 to drive corresponding slot structures for aplurality of transmission resources according to a plurality ofcorresponding SFI tables.

In operation 206, the BS 102 further configures a period of the PDCCH(e.g., GC-PDCCH) monitoring occasion, which equals K slots, where the Kslots each has a slot length. The slot length can be the slot length ofone of the following: the first numerology of the first transmissionresource carrying the at least one SFI field, one of the at least onesecond numerology of the at least one second transmission resourcesindicated by the at least one SFI field, or a third numerology, whereinthe third numerology can be a reference numerology pre-defined by the BS102, a fourth numerology corresponding to a maximum SCS or a minimum SCSwithin a plurality of transmission resources that are supported by theBS 102 or the UE 104.

FIG. 3A illustrates a GC-PDCCH 301 carrying only one SFI field 302indicating one transmission resource 303, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. There is a first transmissionresource that carries a GC-PDCCH 301 with a first SCS (SCS1) and a firstnumerology 305, wherein the GC-PDCCH 301 contains one SFI field 302. Asecond transmission resource 303 indicated by the SFI field 302 on theGC-PDCCH 301 has a second SCS (SCS2) and a second numerology 306. Forthe second transmission resource 303, according to the second numerology306, one slot comprises a plurality of OFDM symbols (e.g., 304-1, 304-2,304-3, 304-4, 304-5). Although only 5 OFDM symbols are shown, it shouldbe noted that any number of OFDM symbols can be included in one slot arein the scope of this invention. When the SCS1>SCS2, the period of theGC-PDCCH monitoring occasion that configured by the BS 102 is defined asK1 slots, where the K1 slots each has a slot length. The slot length canbe the slot length of one of the following: the first numerology 305,the second numerology 306, or a third numerology, wherein the thirdnumerology can be a reference numerology pre-defined by the BS 102, amaximum SCS or a minimum SCS within at least one of the followingnumerology: the numerology 306, or a plurality of numerologies supportedby the BS 102 or the UE 104. In some embodiments, K1 can be one of thefollowing:

K1=a×k, wherein k is a positive integer and pre-defined by the BS 102,or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, wherein a can besemi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE 104, or calculatedbased on SCS1/SCS2.

K1=a×k×x, wherein k is a positive integer, e.g., 1 or a valuepre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102,wherein x has a value pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-staticallyconfigured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32),wherein a can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE 104,or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2.

K1=2^(b)×x, wherein b is a positive integer, and can be pre-defined bythe BS 102 or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, or can becalculated by log₂(SCS1/SCS2), wherein x has a value pre-defined by theBS 102, or is one of the values semi-statically configured by the BS102, e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32.

In some embodiments, when the SCS2>SCS1, the period and K1 can bedetermined using the equations above. In this case, a in the aboveequations equals 1, b equals 0, and x has a value pre-defined by the BS102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20,40, 8, 16, and 32).

In some embodiments, the period of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion thatconfigured by the BS 102 is defined as K1 slots, where the K1 slots eachhas a slot length of the numerology 306, wherein K1 has a value whichcan be pre-defined by the BS 102 or is one of the values semi-staticallyconfigure by the BS 102, e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32.

Referring again to FIG. 2 , the method 200 continues operation 208 inwhich the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH on slots according to the periodK1 of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion configured by the BS 102.Referring to FIG. 3A, the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH and receives theSFI field 302, the UE 104 refers to the corresponding SFI table andfurther determines the slot structure of a second transmission resourcewith a numerology which equals to the second numerology 306.

FIG. 3B illustrates a GC-PDCCH 301 carrying one SFI field 302 indicatingtwo transmission resources 303 and 311, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure. There is a first transmissionresource that carries a GC-PDCCH 301 with a first SCS (SCS1) and a firstnumerology (Numerology 1) 305, wherein the GC-PDCCH 301 contains one SFIfield 302. Two transmission resources, a second transmission resource303 and a third transmission resource 311 indicated by the SFI field 302on the GC-PDCCH 301 has a second SCS (SCS2) and a third SCS (SCS3), asecond numerology (Numerology 2) 306 and a third numerology (Numerology3) 312, respectively. For the second transmission resource 303,according to the second numerology 306, one slot comprises a pluralityof OFDM symbols (e.g., 304-1, 304-2, 304-3, 304-4, and 304-5). For thethird transmission resource 311, according to the third numerology 312,one slot comprises a plurality of OFDM symbols (e.g., 331-1, 313-2,313-3, 313-4, 313-5, 313-6, 313-7, 313-8, 313-9, 313-10, and 313-11). Itshould be noted that any number of OFDM symbols can be included in thesecond and third transmission resources 303 and 311, which are in thescope of this invention.

The period of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion that configured by the BS102 is defined as K2 slots, where the K2 slots each has a slot length.The slot length can be the slot length in one of the following: thefirst numerology 305, one of the values of the second numerology 306 andthe third numerology 312, or a fourth numerology, wherein the fourthnumerology can be a reference numerology per-defined by the BS 102, amaximum SCS or a minimum SCS within a plurality of numerologies, whichcan be one of the following the second numerology 306, the thirdnumerology 312, or a plurality of numerologies that are supported by theBS 102 or the UE 104. In some embodiments, K2 can be one of thefollowing:

K2=max(a1,a2,1)×k, wherein k is a positive integer and pre-defined bythe BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, whereinmax(a1,a2,1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3, wherein the a1 canbe determined based on SCS1/SCS2, the a2 can be determined based onSCS1/SCS3.

K2=max(a1,a2,1)×k×x, wherein k is a positive integer, e.g., 1 or a valuepre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102,wherein x has a value pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-staticallyconfigured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32),wherein max(a1,a2,1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 tothe UE 104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K2=2^(b)×x, wherein b is a positive integer, and can be pre-defined bythe BS 102 or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, or can becalculated by max(log 2(a1), log 2(a2),0), wherein a1 and a2 can besemi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE 104, or calculatedbased on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3, and wherein x has a value pre-definedby the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2,5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32).

Referring again to FIG. 2 , the method 200 continues to operation 208 inwhich the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH on slots according to the periodK2 of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion configured by the BS 102.Referring to FIG. 3B, when the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH and receivesthe SFI field 302 at one monitoring occasion, the UE 104 determines theslot structures of the transmission resource 303 and 311 with anumerology 306 and 312 based on the received SFI field 302 thatcorresponds to SFI tables for the two transmission resources 303 and311, respectively.

FIG. 3C illustrates a GC-PDCCH 301 carrying two SFI fields 302-1 and302-2 indicating at least two transmission resources: a secondtransmission resource 303 and a third transmission resource 311, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. There is afirst transmission resource that carries a GC-PDCCH 301 with a first SCS(SCS1) and a first numerology (Numerology 1) 305, wherein the GC-PDCCH301 contains two SFI fields 302-1 and 302-2. Two transmission resources303 and 311 are indicated by the SFI field 302-1 and 302-2,respectively. The two transmission resources 303 and 311 on the GC-PDCCH301 has a second SCS (SCS2) and a second numerology (Numerology 2) 306,and a third SCS (SCS3) and a third numerology (Numerology 3) 312,respectively. For the second transmission resource 303, according to thesecond numerology 306, one slot comprises a plurality of OFDM symbols(e.g., 304-1, 304-2, 304-3, 304-4, and 304-5). For the thirdtransmission resource 311, according to the third numerology 312, oneslot comprises a plurality of OFDM symbols (e.g., 331-1, 313-2, 313-3,313-4, 313-5, 313-6, 313-7, 313-8, 313-9, 313-10, and 313-11). It shouldbe noted that any number of OFDM symbols can be included in the secondand third transmission resources 303 and 311, which are in the scope ofthis invention.

The period of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion that configured by the BS102 is defined as K3 slots, where the K3 slots each has a slot length.The slot length can be the slot length in one of the following: thefirst numerology 305, one of the values of the second numerology 306 andthe third numerology 312, or a fourth numerology, wherein the fourthnumerology can be a reference numerology per-defined by the BS 102, amaximum SCS or a minimum SCS within a plurality of numerologies, whichcan be one of the following numerology 306, numerology 312, or aplurality of numerologies supported by the BS 102 or the UE 104. In someembodiments, K3 can be one of the following:

K3=max(a1,a2,1)×k, wherein k is a positive integer and pre-defined bythe BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, whereinmax(a1,a2,1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K3=max(a1,a2,1)×k×x, wherein k is a positive integer, e.g., 1 or a valuepre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102,wherein x has a value pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-staticallyconfigured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32),wherein max(a1,a2,1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 tothe UE 104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K3=2^(b)×x, wherein b is a positive integer, and can be pre-defined bythe BS 102 or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, or can becalculated by max(log₂(a1), log 2(a2),0), wherein a1 and a2 can besemi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE 104, or calculatedbased on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3, and wherein x has a value pre-definedby the BS 102, or is one of the values semi-statically configured by theBS 102, e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32.

Referring again to FIG. 2 , the method 200 continues to operation 208 inwhich the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH on slots according to the periodK3 of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion configured by the BS 102.Referring to FIG. 3C, when the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH and receivesthe two SFI fields 302-1 and 302-2 at two different monitoringoccasions, the UE 104 determines the slot structures of the transmissionresource 303 and 311 with a numerology 306 and 312 based on the receivedSFI fields 302-1 and 302-2 that correspond to SFI tables for the twotransmission resources 303 and 311, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3C, in some embodiments, the period of the GC-PDCCHmonitoring occasion that configured by the BS 102 is defined as K4slots, where the K4 slots each has a slot length. The slot length can bethe slot length in one of the following: the first numerology 305, oneof the values of the second numerology 306 and the third numerology 312,or a fourth numerology, wherein the fourth numerology can be a referencenumerology pre-defined by the BS 102, a maximum SCS or a minimum SCSwithin a plurality of numerologies, which can be one of the followingthe second numerology 306, the third numerology 312, or a plurality ofnumerologies that are supported by the BS 102 or the UE 104. In someembodiments, K4 can be one of the following:

K4=max(min(a1,a2),1)×k, wherein k is a positive integer and pre-definedby the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, whereinmax(min(a1,a2),1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 to theUE 104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K4=max(min(a1,a2),1)×k×x, wherein k is a positive integer, e.g., 1 or avalue pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS102, wherein x has a value pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-staticallyconfigured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32),wherein max(min(a1,a2),1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS102 to the UE 104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K4=2^(b)×x, wherein b is a positive integer, and can be pre-defined bythe BS 102 or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, or can becalculated by max(min(log₂(a1), log 2(a2)),0), wherein a1 and a2 can besemi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE 104, or calculatedbased on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3, and wherein x has a value pre-definedby the BS 102, or is one of the values semi-statically configured by theBS 102, e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32.

Referring still to FIG. 2 , the method 200 continues to operation 208 inwhich the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH at monitoring occasions, whichare defined as OFFSET+c×K4 slots, wherein OFFSET is a non-negativeinteger, and c is a non-negative integer (e.g. the slot index), and K4slots is the period of the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasion, wherein K4 is apositive integer and configured as described above. The UE 104 candetermine the DCI payload for the GC-PDCCH monitoring occasionsaccording to at least one of the following: a1, a2, SCS1, SCS2, SCS3,and K4.

For a monitoring occasion that When c×K4 is an integer time of a1, butnot an integer time of a2, the SFI field 302-1 corresponding to thesecond numerology 306 can be received by the UE 104. In this case, theBS 102 transmits the GC-PDCCH 301 and the UE 102 monitors the GC-PDCCH301 by a first DCI payload.

For a monitoring occasion that When c×K4 is an integer time of a2, butnot an integer time of a1, the SFI field 302-2 corresponding to thethird numerology 312 can be received by the UE 104. In this case, the BS102 transmits the GC-PDCCH 301 and the UE 102 monitors the GC-PDCCH 301by a second DCI payload.

For a monitoring occasion that When c×K4 is an integer time of both a1and a2, the two SFI fields 302-1 and 302-2 corresponding to the secondand third numerologies 306 and 312 can be received by the UE 104. Inthis case, the BS 102 transmits the GC-PDCCH 301 and the UE 102 monitorsthe GC-PDCCH 301 by a third DCI payload.

The first DCI payload is equal to or smaller than the third DCI payload,according to certain embodiments. The second DCI payload is equal to orsmaller than the third DCI payload, according to certain embodiments.The first DCI payload and the second DCI payload can be the same ordifferent. Furthermore, the first, second and third DCI payload can havesame or different DCI formats. The bit length of SFI field 302-1 and thebit length of SFI field 302-2 can be same or different.

When the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH 301 and receives the SFI field302-1 at a monitoring occasion with a selected DCI payload, the UE 104determines the slot structures of the second transmission resources 303with the second numerology 306 based on the received SFI fields 302-1that correspond to a SFI table for the transmission resources 303. Whenthe UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH 301 and receives the SFI field 302-2 ata monitoring occasion with a selected DCI payload, the UE 104 determinesthe slot structures of the third transmission resources 311 with thethird numerology 312 based on the received SFI fields 302-2 thatcorrespond to a SFI table for the transmission resources 311. when theUE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH 301 and receives the SFI fields 302-1 and302-2 at one monitoring occasion with a selected DCI payload, the UE 104determines the slot structures of the transmission resource 303 and 311with a numerology 306 and 312 based on the received SFI field 302 thatcorresponds to SFI tables for the two transmission resources 303 and311, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3C, in some embodiment, the period of the GC-PDCCHmonitoring occasion that configured by the BS 102 is defined as K5slots, where the K5 slots each has a slot length. The slot length can bethe slot length in one of the following: the first numerology 305, oneof the values of the second numerology 306 and the third numerology 312,or a fourth numerology, wherein the fourth numerology can be a referencenumerology pre-defined by the BS 102, a maximum SCS or a minimum SCSwithin a plurality of numerologies, which can be one of the followingthe second numerology 306, the third numerology 312, or a plurality ofnumerologies that are supported by the BS 102 or the UE 104. In someembodiments, K5 can be one of the following:

K5=max(min(a1,a2),1)×k, wherein k is a positive integer and pre-definedby the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, whereinmax(min(a1,a2),1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS 102 to theUE 104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K5=max(min(a1,a2),1)×k×x, wherein k is a positive integer, e.g., 1 or avalue pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-statically configured by the BS102, wherein x has a value pre-defined by the BS 102, or semi-staticallyconfigured by the BS 102 (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32),wherein max(min(a1,a2),1) can be semi-statically configured by the BS102 to the UE 104, or calculated based on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3.

K5=2^(b)×x, wherein b is a positive integer, and can be pre-defined bythe BS 102 or semi-statically configured by the BS 102, or can becalculated by max(min(log₂(a1), log 2(a2)),0), wherein a1 and a2 can besemi-statically configured by the BS 102 to the UE 104, or calculatedbased on SCS1/SCS2 and SCS1/SCS3, and wherein x has a value pre-definedby the BS 102, or is one of the values semi-statically configured by theBS 102, e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 8, 16, and 32.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the method 200 continues operation 208 in whichthe UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH 301 at monitoring occasions with afixed DCI payload carrying both the SFI fields 302-1 and 302-2. At someof the monitoring occasions, the SFI fields 302-1 or 302-2 are filledwith predefined values. In some embodiments, the predefined values canbe a number of bits “1” or a number of bits “0”. The bit length of SFIfield 302-1 and the bit length of SFI field 302-2 can be same ordifferent. When the UE 104 monitors the GC-PDCCH 301 and receives thetwo SFI fields 302-1 and 302-2 at one monitoring occasion, the UE 104determines the slot structures of the transmission resource 303 and 311with a numerology 306 and 312 based on the received SFI field 302-1 and302-2 that correspond to two different SFI tables for the twotransmission resources 303 and 311, respectively. If anyone of the SFIfields is the predefined values, which means there is not any SFIindication in this SFI field.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described above, itshould be understood that they have been presented by way of exampleonly, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams maydepict an example architectural or configuration, which are provided toenable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand exemplaryfeatures and functions of the invention. Such persons would understand,however, that the invention is not restricted to the illustrated examplearchitectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a varietyof alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as wouldbe understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or morefeatures of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features ofanother embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of thepresent disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-describedexemplary embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using adesignation such as “first,” “second,” and so forth does not generallylimit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, thesedesignations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishingbetween two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, areference to first and second elements does not mean that only twoelements can be employed, or that the first element must precede thesecond element in some manner.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understandthat information and signals can be represented using any of a varietyof different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits and symbols, forexample, which may be referenced in the above description can berepresented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magneticfields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combinationthereof.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that anyof the some illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means,circuits, methods and functions described in connection with the aspectsdisclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., adigital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination ofthe two, which can be designed using source coding or some othertechnique), various forms of program or design code incorporatinginstructions (which can be referred to herein, for convenience, as“software” or a “software module), or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or acombination of these technique, depends upon the particular applicationand design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisanscan implement the described functionality in various ways for eachparticular application, but such implementation decisions should not beinterpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand thatvarious illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components andcircuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by anintegrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logicalblocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/ortransceivers to communicate with various components within the networkor within the device. A general purpose processor can be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be anyconventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSPcore, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functionsdescribed herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or moreinstructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of amethod or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as softwarestored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includesboth computer storage media and communication media including any mediumthat can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from oneplace to another. A storage media can be any available media that can beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired programcode in the form of instructions or data structures and that can beaccessed by a computer.

In this document, the term “module” as used herein, refers to software,firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performingthe associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose ofdiscussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules;however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, twoor more modules may be combined to form a single module that performsthe associated functions according embodiments of the invention.

Additionally, memory or other storage, as well as communicationcomponents, may be employed in embodiments of the invention. It will beappreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description hasdescribed embodiments of the invention with reference to differentfunctional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that anysuitable distribution of functionality between different functionalunits, processing logic elements or domains may be used withoutdetracting from the invention. For example, functionality illustrated tobe performed by separate processing logic elements, or controllers, maybe performed by the same processing logic element, or controller. Hence,references to specific functional units are only references to asuitable means for providing the described functionality, rather thanindicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the implementations described in thisdisclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and thegeneral principles defined herein can be applied to otherimplementations without departing from the scope of this disclosure.Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to theimplementations shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, asrecited in the claims below.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a wirelesscommunication node, comprising: configuring a first slot format relatedinformation (SFI) entry set to a wireless communication device, whereinthe first SFI entry set contains slot structure information of at leastone transmission resource; and transmitting a physical channel to thewireless communication device, wherein the physical channel comprises atleast one SFI field, wherein the at least one SFI field corresponds to aplurality of SFI entry sets that are different from each other, the atleast one SFI field is determined based on a first downlink controlinformation (DCI) payload, the first DCI payload is determined by thewireless communication device based on a second DCI payload, and thesecond DCI payload is a value configured by the wireless communicationnode.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the at least one SFI field isone single SFI field corresponding to the plurality of SFI entry sets;and the plurality of SFI entry sets comprises the first SFI entry setand a second SFI entry set.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein: the atleast one SFI field is a plurality of SFI fields each of whichcorresponding to a respective one of the plurality of SFI entry sets;and the plurality of SFI entry sets comprises the first SFI entry setand a second SFI entry set.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein each ofthe plurality of SFI entry sets comprises at least one of the followingelements: downlink (DL) OFDM symbols, uplink (UL) OFDM symbols, OTHEROFDM symbols, DL OFDM symbols and OTHER OFDM symbols, and UL OFDMsymbols and OTHER OFDM symbols.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein arelationship between OFDM symbols in the first SFI entry set and OFDMsymbols in the second SFI entry set comprises one of the following: thenumber of DL OFDM symbols in the entry of the first SFI entry set equalsthe number of UL OFDM symbols in the entry of the second SFI entry set,the number of UL OFDM symbols in the entry of the first SFI entry setequals the number of DL OFDM symbols in the entry of the second SFIentry set, the number of DL OFDM symbols in the entry of the first SFIentry set equals the number of DL OFDM symbols in the entry of thesecond SFI entry set, the number of UL OFDM symbols in the entry of thefirst SFI entry set equals the number of uplink OFDM symbols in theentry of the second SFI entry set, and the number of OTHER OFDM symbolsin the entry of the first SFI entry set equals the number of OTHER OFDMsymbols in the entry of the second SFI entry set.
 6. The method of claim4, wherein: each entry of the first SFI entry set corresponds to DL OFDMsymbols or OTHER OFDM symbols; and each entry of the second SFI entryset corresponds to UL OFDM symbols or OTHER OFDM symbols.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the at least one SFI field refers to an SFI table.8. A wireless communication node comprising at least one processor and amemory, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed,cause the at least one processor to: configure a first slot formatrelated information (SFI) entry set to a wireless communication device,wherein the first SFI entry set contains slot structure information ofat least one transmission resource; and transmit a physical channel tothe wireless communication device, wherein the physical channelcomprises an SFI field, wherein the SFI field corresponds to a pluralityof SFI entry sets that are different from each other, the SFI field isdetermined based on a first downlink control information (DCI) payload,the first DCI payload is determined by the wireless communication devicebased on a second DCI payload, and the second DCI payload is a valueconfigured by the wireless communication node.
 9. The wirelesscommunication node of claim 8, wherein the SFI field refers to an SFItable.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon computer-executable instructions for carrying out the method ofany one of claims 1-3, 4-6 and 7.